Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 612,507 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 112,548 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.24% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $239,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% during the third quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 345.0% during the 3rd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 89 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Key Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several major analysts raised coverage and targets for VRTX, boosting bullish sentiment and shorter-term buying interest. Oppenheimer Raises Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $600.00
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades translated into intraday strength earlier in the week (shares traded notably higher on upgrade headlines), signaling renewed investor appetite. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Trading 9.9% Higher on Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: New research coverage from Jefferies adds another channel for institutional visibility and could support longer-term demand. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Research Coverage Started at Jefferies Financial Group
• Positive Sentiment: Retail and media interest has picked up — headlines highlighting a recent ~8% jump are drawing attention from momentum traders. This helps explain recent volume spikes and short-term volatility. This Stock Just Jumped By 8%: Is It Too Late to Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: “Trending stock” write-ups from Zacks/Yahoo summarize catalysts and risks for new readers; useful for context but unlikely to move price by themselves. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyses that list reasons to watch VRTX (growth from cystic fibrosis and extending franchises) and one caution help frame investor decisions but don’t introduce a new catalyst. 2 Reasons to Watch VRTX and 1 to Stay Cautious
• Neutral Sentiment: Long-term performance pieces and market-focus coverage provide background on investor returns and index attention; helpful for positioning but not immediate drivers. If You Invested $1000 In Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock 20 Years Ago…
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upgrades, the stock has retraced from the immediate highs — recent intraday declines and a prior small earnings EPS miss (Feb quarter EPS slightly below consensus) leave some investors taking profits. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $469.34 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $470.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $438.46. The company has a market cap of $119.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $596.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $553.36.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $126,451.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,743,185.05. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total transaction of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,562,646.35. This trade represents a 21.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 91,156 shares of company stock worth $42,845,497 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.